Apparatus for gymnastic work.



W. DELMORE. APPARATUS FOR GYMNASTIU WORK.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 28, 1908.

91 6,680. Patented Mar. 30, 1909.

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W. DELMORE.

APPARATUS FOB. GYMNASTIO WORK.

vAPPLIOATION II'LED MAB.. 2B, 1908.

Patented Mar. 30, 1909.

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WILLIAM DELMORE, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

APPARATUS FOR GYMNASTIC WORK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed March 28, 1908.

Patented March 30, 1909.

Serial No. 423,870.

To all whom. it' may concern:

Be it known that I, VILLIAM DnLMonn, citizenof the United States, andresident of New York, in the county of New York and State of New York,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus forGymnastic Toi-k, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to apparatus intended for use invaudeville acrobatic work, and is designed particularly to provide meanswhereby performers may accomplish novel and pleasing aerial evolutions.

Generally stated, the apparatus comprises freely movable suspendingmeans, to which a rotary, a revolving, and a swinging movement, areimparted during the operation of the device, so as to give what I term atriple twist to the performer.

Stated more specifically the apparatus embodies a suitable supportingst-andard upon which is mounted a revolving` frame, said frame in turncarrying rotating` shafts, to which rotating shafts are connectedsuspending devices which are freely movable under the action ofcentrifugal force, so that the suspending devices and performers`revolve about the central standard by the action of the revolvingframe, rotate about their own axis under the influence of the rotatingshafts carried by the revolving frame, and swing outwardly under thecentrifugal force.

The details of the construction will be pointed out hereinafter, and inorder that the invention may be better understood by those skilled inthe art, I have illustrated in the accompanying drawings one embodimentof my invention, and in said drawings:

Figure 1 is a side view, partly in section for clearness ofillustration, of an apparatus embodyingmy invention. Fig. 2 is a planview of the apparatus, the top of the standard or central post beingremoved for clearness of illustration.

Referringto the drawings by numerals, like numbers indicating like partsin the several views, 2 denotes a central standard provided with asuitable base by means of which it may be firmly secured to the floor orother foundation, said central standard 2 being preferably braced bymeans of offstanding supports 3, said supports 3 being also provided attheir lower ends with means for securing them to the floor, and beingsecured at their upper ends, as shown, to a collar '-1 on the standard2, these supports 3 being preferably L-shaped in order that they willprovide sufficient clearance between the standard Q and the verticallimbs of the supports 3 for operating other portions of the apparatus,which will presently be described.

Mounted upon the standard 2, the upper portion of which extends abovethe supports 3 just described, is a revolving frame 5, comprisinghorizontal arms G ,bearing rotary shafts 7, which shafts at their innerends are provided with cog wheels S which mesh with a stationary gear 9fixed upon anonrotatable supporting plate 10 carried by the standard 2.The said horizontal arms 6 are preferably supported by means of strutrods 11, which run from the outer ends of the arms G to a suitablecollar 12 on the standard 2.

The frame 5 may be embellished and decorated by scrolls and ornamentalwork, as shown, to give it a pleasing appearance, and in addition tobeing' freely revoluble about the standard 2, the said frame 5 has afree vertical movement on the said standard 2.

In order to elevate the revoluble frame and its associated parts on itssupporting standard, I provide a non-rotating depending frame 13, madeup of vertical membersl which are secured to the supporting plate 10 andare connected at their lower ends by means of a suitable plate or ring14 as clearly shown in Fig. 1.

One of the vertical members of the depending frame 13 is provided with arack 15 in which meshes a pinion 16 journaled in a hanger 17 on one ofthe horizontal arms of an L-shaped support 3, the said pinion 16 beingprovided with a crank so that when the pinion is rotated, the dependingframe 13 and the rotating frame 5 will be elevated to the position shownin dotted lines in Fig. 1. In this position the frame 5 may be thenrevolved by means of a crank shaft 18 carried by the depending frame 13which is provided with a pinion 19 meshing with an internal gear 19 onthe frame 5, as shown in Fig. l. Revolution of the frame 5 in the mannerstated will cause the shafts 7 to be rotated through the action of thebeveled gears S meshing with the fixed gear 9, and at the outer ends ofthese rotary shafts 7 are the suspending devices 20, said suspendingdevices being connected by universal joints with the rotary shafts T attheir upper ends and being provided at t-heir lower ends with suitablesuspending means, the example shown iii the present instance beingteethgrips 2l.

Preferably the frames 5 and 18 and their appurtenances will becounterbalanced so as to render its manipulation and elevation easy, bymeans of weights QQ, connected by flexible connections 23 with thebottom of the depending frame 13, said weight connections running oversuitable sheaves 24, mounted on cross bars Q5, which are supported 'bythe horizontal arms of the shaped supports B, best shown in Fig. 2.

vln using the apparatus the performers will grip the suspending deviceswhen the frame 5 is in its lower position, and the frame will then beelevated, through the rack and pinion mechanism described, to the dottedline position. ln this position the frame 5 will be revolved, throughthe medium of the fixed internal gear and pinion mechanism described,and cause the performers to swing in a large circle; at the same timerotating them, through the rotating shafts; and simultaneously they willswing outwardly under vthe action of centrifugal force, giving aspectacular acrobatic effect to the performers.

Obviously the number of supporting arms may be varied to suit the needsof the performers without departing from my invention, and various othermechanical changes may be made within the scope of the appended claims.

l claim:

l. in an apparatus of the class described, the combination with asupporting standard, of a revoluble frame mounted thereon, means forelevating said frame on said standard, rotary shafts carried by saidframe, and suspending means carried by said shafts.

2. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination with asupporting standard, of a revoluble frame mounted thereon, means forelevating said frame on said standard, rotary shafts carried by saidframe, and suspending devices having universal joint.

connections with the outer ends of said shafts.

3. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination with asupporting standard, of a revoluble frame mounted thereon, means forelevating said frame, means for revolving said frame, rotary shaftsmounted in said frame, a tired driving gear carried by said frame torotate said shafts, and suspending devices connected with the outer endsof said rotary shafts. l

4. ln an apparatus of the class described, the combination with asupporting standard, of a revoluble frame mounted thereon, means forelevating said frame on said standard, a counterbalance for said frame,rotary shafts carried by said frame and extending horizontally from saidstandard, means for revolving said frame, means for rotating saidshafts, and freely swinging suspending devices secured to the outer endsof said shafts.

5. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination with asupporting standard, of a revoluble frame mounted thereon, anonrevoluble frame depending Vfrom said revoluble frame, means forlifting said frames, means for revolving said revoluble frame, rotaryshafts carried by said'revolubleframe, means carried by said rotaryshaft-s. Y

6. ln an apparatus of the class described, the combination with asupporting standard, of a revoluble and a iion-revoluble frame mountedthereon, means for elevating saidY frames on said standard, means forrevolving said revoluble frame, rotary shafts carrried by said revolubleframe, means on said non-revoluble frame for rotating said'sliafts, andsuspension devices at the outer ends .of

on said iion-revoluble frame for rotating said shafts, and suspendingdevices

